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When someone thinks of intelligent dogs, German Shepard’s always come up. My wife and I have always had a dog, but this one was special. I never was the dog lover in the house, my wife was. Our last dog had a German Shepard mix and was a good dog but didn’t have the smarts like this one.

It really amazes me with this dog how he is so quick to learn something. A working breed, and he will do anything for you. He will retrieve a ball, but not too keen on giving up his toy. We taught him hand instructions. If we want him to sit we raise our fist then curl it downward. To stay, we put up the stop sign, or hand out flat. To lay down, we push our hand in a downward motion. It is so cool to see this. He will back up with a command to back up. We hide treats and he will hunt them down in no time. This dog is a watch dog and his loyalty to my wife is unreal. I have to say that I have turned into a dog lover with this one. He is our child, so we talk like mummy and daddy. It really is sad, being a large dog, the hip issue thing has started and he is not very old. He is such a good boy, my wife would be proud of me saying that. The only thing that drives me crazy is he wants to work all the time. Every job I try to do outside becomes his job too. So raking leaves, taking the garbage out, shoveling dirt, weed whacking, or anything, becomes a real challenge. The thing I love best, or we love best, is walking on the trails out back in the woods. He will intimidate anyone who comes here, but he really is a good boy. So if you ever thought about getting a German Shepard or have any stories about your own, please feel free to leave a comment or send a pic of yours. You can facebook me. Dwayne Bilodeau-

I was the chosen one to be accepted to be commander of a new science lab that was going to be in space. This station would be in space for five years and would provide its own food. There was animals and plants. There would be five men and five woman on this adventure who would control all the systems. The Biosphere, with the garden, was a large bubble and open for viewing all the stars. It was a wonderful place to be, and you could sit in the recliners for hours just dreaming. We had to have insects too to make sure pollen was distributed to all the other plants. The butterflies were so magical in their own way.

We had been about three years now into this scientific adventure when one of my officers came up to me with disturbing news. Sir, he saluted me. We are following a large asteroid which is only hours away. It is larger than earth and is in a direct path with us. According to my calculations there is no way we can maneuver to escape. Sir, we only have one choice, and that is to separate the Biosphere. This is our only food source, certainly we will not survive without it, I said. Please sir, this is the only way, the officer stated. I want all officers on the deck at 0230 hrs, we must make a decision. Sir, the officer replied, and off he went to his station. The time came and the decision was made that a separation is going to happen. We knew that without food we would not survive for a week or less. The time had come.

With all men and woman in the control room we set the countdown for separation from the main station. Some of the woman and a few guys had tears in their eyes. The fact that the Atrium which they had been taking care of for three years, was being remove, but also the fact the chances of survival was very low. I could understand and felt the same. This was my command and all these people I was responsible for was losing everything and maybe their life.

I was sleeping soundly when I was suddenly awaken. I remembered that when the engineers were constructing this ship that I was the only one told that two anti- nuclear devices were installed into a hidden cargo area. There was also a launching pad that was stored in the same area. I had to unscrew the caps, take one off and put it on the other. The codes were reversed so I had to remember the code. Why couldn’t I remember them at this moment? I sat for moment and finally it came to me. I got on my radio and commanded all men and woman to the deck. Everyone assembled, and I told them my plan. We was going to wait until the asteroid was within 3000 meters and a launch sequence would be initiated.

The time had come, all viewing the monitor when 3000 meters was here. I hit the button on the launch and we waited. I looked around the room at all the faces and I could see fear into their eyes. An explosion was heard and the whole station was rocked sideways. I lost my balance and others had struck limbs upon the consoles. I finally caught my breath and looked up at the monitor. The asteroid had been destroyed. Everyone else had raised to their feet and instantly had smiles on their faces. The cheers starting coming and I heard a hoorah here and there. Everyone on the station was going to continue this mission. I as commander, had made my last major decision, the next decision was retirement.